This Monday (21), the Constitutional Court of Colombia decriminalized abortion up to 24 weeks of gestation. After more than eight hours of debate, the Supreme Court made the historic decision with a simple majority of 5 to 4.
Until then, the Penal Code of Colombia considered abortion legal in three specific cases: rape or incest, fetal malformation that made its life unfeasible, or when the continuation of the pregnancy constituted a danger to the life or health of the woman, certified by a doctor.
But performing an abortion outside of these three scenarios was considered a crime. That has changed: it is now possible to abort up to 6 months of pregnancy. After the 24th week of pregnancy, the three specific reasons for having a legal abortion apply.
The Constitutional Court thus concluded the debate on the two demands that called for the decriminalization of the practice and placed the right to abortion in the foreground.
One of these demands was presented by the Movimento Causa Justa, made up of more than 90 organizations, which promotes the elimination of the crime of abortion from the Colombian Penal Code.
This movement seeks that “no woman goes to jail for deciding about her body; and that health professionals can practice their profession without criminalization or stigma”.
According to Causa Justa, in deciding in favor of eliminating abortion as a crime, the Court would achieve recognition of the “freedom and autonomy of women to decide about their bodies and life projects, fundamental characteristics of full citizenship”.
The other lawsuit was filed by lawyer Mateo Sánchez in 2020, in the midst of a social context in the country in which the total criminalization of abortion — including the elimination of the three foundations — and bills in Congress with the same objective were discussed.
With this Monday’s decision, Colombia becomes the sixth country in Latin America to make access to abortion more flexible, joining Argentina, Cuba, Guyana, Mexico and Uruguay.
Source: CNN Brasil
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